inter

1 of 2

verb

in·​ter in-ˈtər How to pronounce inter (audio)
interred; interring

transitive verb

: to deposit (a dead body) in the earth or in a tomb

inter-

2 of 2

prefix

1
: between : among : in the midst
intercrop
interpenetrate
interstellar
2
: reciprocal
interrelation
: reciprocally
intermarry
3
: located between
interstation
4
: carried on between
international
5
: occurring between
interborough
: intervening
interglacial
6
: shared by, involving, or derived from two or more
interfaith
7
: between the limits of : within
intertropical
8
: existing between
intercommunal
intercompany

Examples of inter in a Sentence

Verb a burial site where people have been interred for over a thousand years the soldier was interred with great honors at Arlington National Cemetery
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Hosted by Maranatha Baptist Church — where Jimmy taught Sunday school for many years after his presidency — the service marks the last commemorative event of the week before Rosalynn is interred at the Carter's longtime family residence. Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023 Chief among the goods found interred with the bodies is a rare bronze medallion depicting the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, also known as Caracalla, who ruled between 198 and 217 C.E., as Newsweek’s Aristos Georgiou reports. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Feb. 2024 And while 12 were interred with the remains of animals typically intended for consumption (pigs, cows, chickens), four were interred with the remains of dogs or horses — animals not commonly consumed among the Cenomani, according to a press release. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 That's how survivors interred Bilal al-Hour, a professor at Gaza's Al Aqsa University, and 25 of his family members killed Friday in airstrikes that razed their four-story home in Deir al-Balah. TIME, 28 Oct. 2023 It is filled with his photos of Ferrari’s barbershop, the exterior of Ferrari’s home and the Cimitero di San Cataldo, where Ferrari’s only son with Laura, Dino, was interred after dying of muscular dystrophy at the age of 24 in 1956, a year before the film is set. Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 23 Aug. 2023 David Weber, an attorney for the Smith family, is seeking dispensation to have Jeffrey interred at Arlington National Cemetery. Fox News, 19 Aug. 2023 Their bodies were interred in a mass grave somewhere in the East Bottoms. Patrick C. Salland, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024 Canine figurines were frequently interred in human tombs to fulfill this function, suggesting that their companionship lasted longer than a lifetime. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 11 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'inter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English enteren, from Anglo-French enterrer, from Vulgar Latin *interrare, from in- + Latin terra earth — more at terrace entry 1

Prefix

borrowed from Latin, prefixal use of inter "among, between," going back to Indo-European *h1en-ter- (whence also Old Irish eter, iter "between," Old Welsh ithr, Breton etre, entre, all from Celtic *enter; Sanskrit antár "within," Avestan aṇtarə); from a nominal derivative *h1enter-o- "part located inside," Old Norse iðr, innr, indr "entrails," iðrar (feminine plural) "bowels," Greek éntera (neuter plural) "intestines," Armenian ənderkʼ (plural), Sanskrit ántara- "located inside," Avestan antara-

Note: Indo-European *h1en-ter- is formed from the locational particle *h1en- "in" (see in entry 1) and the suffix of opposition and contrast -ter-. A zero-grade derivative *h1n̥-tér- is reflected in Old Saxon undar "between," Old High German untar, though in Germanic this etymon appears to have merged completely with outcomes of *(H)n̥-dher- "below, under" (see under entry 1).

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of inter was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near inter

Cite this Entry

“Inter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

inter

1 of 2 verb
in·​ter in-ˈtər How to pronounce inter (audio)
interred; interring

inter-

2 of 2 prefix
1
: between : among : in the midst
interlock
interstellar
2
: reciprocal
interrelate
: reciprocally
interact
3
: located or occurring between
interlining
4
: carried on between
international
5
: shared by or involving two or more
interracial
Etymology

Verb

from the Latin phrase in terra "in the earth"

Prefix

derived from Latin inter "between, among"

More from Merriam-Webster on inter

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